Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets: names that hold no fear any more. A side that ruled the world was prematurely dumped out of its second consecutive tournament by an Italy side who looked sharper, smarter and newer. Italy looked like the future. Spain looked like the past: a gilded and garlanded past, but a past all the same.
Four years ago, when Spain demolished Italy 4-0 in one of the most ruthlessly one-sided finals of the modern age. It was the high watermark of one of the great international sides of modern times, but in the intervening period the Spanish school has become the orthodoxy. Their method has spread around the world, and ossified in the process: the same conventional style, the same predictable movement, the same metronomic passing game. Teams have had eight years to work it out, and Italy certainly have. They defended ruthlessly, they attacked intelligently and they chased with passion and aggression.
In the first minute of injury time, Italy finally drew the curtains. Substitute Matteo Darmian charged down the right on the break, Pelle timed his run to perfection and jabbed the ball past De Gea to secure victory. Italy’s bench stormed the pitch. Spain hunched their shoulders as if protecting themselves from the rain. The last 10 minutes had seen them hoisting endless crosses into the box, working the ball meaninglessly around the edge of the area.
And so one of the great modern teams is now consigned to the past. All great sides pass into legend, but few quite so definitely as this. Nothing will quite be the same again after this: Spain is a name that no longer holds any fear, and that is perhaps the greatest sadness of all.
At last, it was Spain-0; Italy-2, courtesy of goals from Giorgini Chielleni and Graziano Pelle. Conte magic just did it... Welcome to Chelsea!
0 comments: